TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- The numbers don't add up to Nick Saban, and he doesn't want Alabama's offense to enter Saturday's game with any sort of false confidence because of them.

No. 1 Mississippi State ranks 12th in the SEC in total defense, allowing 427.2 yards in their nine wins. Only Vanderbilt and South Carolina are surrendering more production from opposing offenses.

The majority of yards allowed are through the air, as Mississippi State ranks last in the conference in pass defense. That's particularly misleading, Saban said, because of the way the Bulldogs have raced out to early leads and forced opponents to abandon the run.

"That doesn't mean that they have an issue in pass defense," Saban said. "It just means that they've really had to play against a lot of passes."

Only Alabama and Florida have been better than Mississippi State at stopping the run. A physical front seven led by defensive tackle Chris Jones and linebacker Benardrick McKinney poses a threat unlike anything Alabama's seen this season, Saban said.

"This is probably the most physical front seven that we've probably played against this year in terms of size and ability to control blockers up front, you know that type of thing," Saban said. "We struggled a little bit to run the ball against them last year. So it's going to be really important that we have balance in this game. We've got to be able to run the ball more effectively and efficiently no matter who we play so that we can create that balance, but this is a very challenging front seven this year."

When asked about Alabama's running game, offensive guard Arie Kouandjio said he wouldn't pass judgment until the season ended. After amassing just 106 yards against LSU, the Crimson Tide dropped to seventh in the SEC in rushing offense (206 yards per game).

The big and physical Bulldogs are surrendering just 126.7 rushing yards per game.